Laptops, mobile phones -- and now cars

Mercedes-Benz will launch the S 400 BlueHybrid in 2009. What is it, you ask? Well, it's an S-Class, it's a hybrid and it represents the first attempt at leveraging lithium-ion battery technology for mainstream automotive production.

It took 25 patents for it to happen, but the company is now on the way towards fielding a large car with a compact battery which provides superior storage capacity to the current nickel-metal hydride battery types that are the current staple of hybrid-drive vehicles.

The big breakthrough in making lithium-ion technology work was to integrate the battery mounting into the car's climate control system, ensuring that the battery is never subjected to greater than 35 degrees or less than 15 degrees in normal operation.

Lithium-ion battery longevity has been the principal stumbling block hindering the adoption of this technology for automotive use, but by keeping ambient temperatures within a reasonable window, Daimler's hybrid-drive vehicles will offer reliable, long-lasting battery power.

The S 400 BlueHybrid is pictured here with Dr. Thomas Weber, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, responsible for research and technology and for development at Mercedes-Benz Cars.

According to Daimler, the car will be the world's most economical luxury sedan when it goes on sale. Production cars will use just 7.9L/100km of fuel and produce 190g/km.

Even so, the S400 BlueHybrid will still offer strong performance, yielding 220kW of power from the combination of petrol and electric power units -- and 375Nm of torque. Acceleration from 0 to 100km/h will take 7.3 seconds and the car will be electronically restricted to a top speed of 250km/h.

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